■ U - .-*i ■ 









-~&A I 







^H 
















•F % 









p^ .v.o. <£.'* 



<ft 









& 






^ 









* ^ 









v ^e. 






"^-o* ; 



V = v . 



<— < 



.«*<& 

lT ** 



°4."'..^ X 0^ O, * J? 



A 













%% jf^ :.-:.<:* .# v 



Cr' 1 



rP^ «.v.„, <>/''. 








\. 



% .# 



v ,.^ 









* ^1 



tf* % 






^ 















l^\^ 



cS> ^ 







'*%, > **, 



«&><? 



:* v 










s>* 



<. 




^ x 



£ * 




£" <*> 







^ V 



, <>V 



/*~*s s A^' . „ <*> *-<7Vs* A G <* "< 





T^A^ 



^AO* 



V 












Works by James Allen 

Byways of Blessedness. 

From Poverty to Power ; or, The Real- 
isation of Prosperity and Peace. 

All These Things Added. 

The Life Triumphant. 

The Mastery of Destiny. 

Poems of Peace. 

As A Man Thinketh. 

Out from the Heart. . 

Through the Gate of Good ; or, Christ 
and Conduct. 



XCbe fllbaster^ of 
Besting 



m 
James alien 

Butbor of 

1 ffrom poverty to jpo wev f " ** BIl Ubese TEbfngs B©oeo t ,: 

" Be a flDan TTbinfeetb," etc. 



7*&?« #r/ #0 longer grim, O Destiny ! 

No longer art thou drear and dark and dread, 
A bsolute king and god arbitrary 

Seated in tragic state among the dead — 
Friendly and fair to man I see thee now, 
And light and beauty round thy lordly brow. 




mew Jgotfe an© fcoitoon 

<&♦ IP* Putnam's Sons 

Ube Iftnicfcerbocfter press 






Copyright, 1909 

BY 

JAMES ALLEN 



) Gl, A 2 5 1 S 2 7 



PREFACE 

The discovery of the law of Evolution 
in the material world has prepared men 
for a knowledge of the law of cause and 
effect in the mental world. Thought is 
not less orderly and progressive than 
the material forms which embody 
thought ; and not alone cells and atoms, 
but thoughts and deeds are charged with 
a cumulative and selective energy. In 
the realm of thought and deed, the good 
survives, for it is "fittest"; the evil 
ultimately perishes. To know that the 
"perfect law" of Causation is as all- 
embracing in mind as in matter, is to 
be relieved from all anxiety concerning 



iv preface 

the ultimate destiny of individuals and 
of humanity — 

"For man is man and master of his fate" — 

and the will in man which is con- 
quering the knowledge of natural law 
will conquer the knowledge of spirit- 
ual law; the will which, in ignorance, 
chooses evil, will, as wisdom evolves and 
emerges, choose good. In a universe of 
law, the final mastery of evil by man is 
assured. His lesser destinies of separa- 
tion and sorrow, defeat and death, are 
but disciplinary steps leading to the 
Great Destiny of triumphal mastery. 
He himself is unconsciously building, 
albeit with lacerated hands and labour- 
bowed form, the Temple of Glory which 
is to afford him an eternal habitation 
of peace. 

In this volume I have tried to set 



preface v 

down some words indicative of this 
Law and this Destiny, and the manner 
of its working and its building; and 
have so arranged the subject-matter 
as to make the book a companion vol- 
ume to The Life Triumphant. The first 
six, and the last, chapters first appeared 
in Bibby's Quarterly and Bibby's Annual, 
and it is by kind permission of the 
Editor, Mr. Joseph Bibby, that they 
are now brought together and published 
in volume form, the other three chapters 
having been added to make the book 
consecutive and complete. 

James Allen. 

Bryngoleu, Ilfracombe, England, 
April, 1909. 



CONTENTS 

PAGB 

Deeds, Character, and Destiny . i 



The Science of Self-Control . 



Cause and Effect in Human Conduct 39 



Training of the Will 

Thoroughness 

Mind-Building and Life-Building 

Cultivation of Concentration 

Practice of Meditation . 

The Power of Purpose 

The Joy of Accomplishment 



20 



50 
59 
67 
80 
96 
109 

115 



Gbe flDasterp of Besting 



THE MASTERY OF DESTINY 



DEEDS, CHARACTER, AND 
DESTINY 

There is, and always has been, a 
wide-spread belief in Fate, or Destiny, 
that is, in an eternal and inscrutable 
Power which apportions definite ends 
to both individuals and nations. This 
belief has arisen from long observation 
of the facts of life. Men are conscious 
that there are certain occurrences which 
they cannot control, and are powerless 
to avert. Birth and death, for instance, 
are inevitable, and many of the incidents 
of life appear equally inevitable. Men 



2 Zbe flfcastetE of Westiny 

strain every nerve for the attainment 
of certain ends, and gradually they be- 
come conscious of a Power which seems 
to be not of themselves, which frustrates 
their puny efforts, and laughs, as it were, 
at their fruitless striving and struggle. 
As men advance in life, they learn to 
submit, more or less, to this overruling 
Power which they do not understand, 
perceiving only its effects in themselves 
and the world around them, and they 
call it by various names, such as God, 
Providence, Fate, Destiny, etc. 

Men of contemplation, such as poets 
and philosophers, step aside, as it were, 
to watch the movements of this myster- 
ious Power as it seems to elevate its 
favourites on the one hand, and strike 
down its victims on the other, without 
reference to merit or demerit. The 
greatest poets, especially the dramatic 



2>eeds, Gbaracter, and Destiny 3 

poets, represent this Power in their 
works, as they have observed it in Na- 
ture. The Greek and Roman drama- 
tists usually depict their heroes as having 
foreknowledge of their fate, and taking 
means to escape it; but by so doing 
they blindly involve themselves in a 
series of consequences which bring about 
the doom which they are trying to 
avert. Shakespeare's characters, on the 
other hand, are represented, as in Nature, 
with no foreknowledge (except in the 
form of presentiment) of their particular 
destiny. Thus, according to the poets, 
whether the man knows his fate or not, 
he cannot avert it, and every conscious 
or unconscious act of his is a step to- 
wards it. 

Omar Khayyam's " Moving Finger" is 
a vivid expression of this idea of 
Fate: 



4 Gbe flfcasterg of Besting 

"The Moving Finger writes, and having writ, 
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit 
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line, 
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. " 

Thus, men in all nations and times 
have experienced in their lives the 
action of this invincible Power or Law, 
and in our nation to-day this experience 
has been crystallized in the terse pro- 
verb, "Man proposes, God disposes." 

But, contradictory as it may appear, 
there is an equally wide-spread belief 
in man's responsibility as a free agent. 

All moral teaching is an affirmation 
of man's freedom to choose his course 
and mould his destiny; and man's 
patient and untiring efforts in achieving 
his ends are declarations of conscious- 
ness of freedom and power. This dual 
experience of fate on the one hand, 
and freedom on the other, has given 



Deeds, Gbaracter, anD Destiny 5 

rise to the interminable controversy 
between the believers in Fatalism and 
the upholders of Free-will — a contro- 
versy which was recently revived under 
the term "Determinism versus Free- 
will.' ' Between apparently conflicting 
extremes there is always a "middle 
way" of balance, justice, or compen- 
sation which, while it includes both 
extremes, cannot be said to be either 
one or the other, and which brings both 
into harmony; and this middle way is 
the point of contact between two ex- 
tremes. Truth cannot be a partisan, 
but, by its nature, is the Reconciler of 
extremes; and so, in the matter which 
we are considering, there is a "golden 
mean" which brings Fate and Free-will 
into close relationship, wherein, indeed, 
it is seen that these two indisputable 
facts in human life, for such they are, 



6 Zbc flbaztety ot Destiny 

are but two aspects of one central law, 
one unifying and all-embracing principle, 
namely, the law of causation in its moral 
aspect. 

Moral causation necessitates both Fate 
and Free-will, both individual respon- 
sibility and individual predestination, 
for the law of causes must also be the 
law of effects, and cause and effect must 
always be equal; the traifi of causation, 
both in matter and mind, must be 
eternally balanced, therefore eternally 
just, eternally perfect. Thus every 
effect may be said to be a thing pre- 
ordained, but the predetermining power 
is a cause, and not the fiat of an arbi- 
trary will. 

Man finds himself involved in the 
train of causation. His life is made up 
of causes and effects. It is both a sowing 
and a reaping. Each act of his is a 



DeeDs, Gbaracter, an& Destiny 7 

cause which must be balanced by its 
effects. He chooses the cause (this 
is Free-will) , he cannot choose, alter, or 
avert the effect (this is Fate) ; thus 
Free-will stands for the power to initiate 
causes, and destiny is involvement in 
effects. It is therefore true that man 
is predestined to certain ends, but he 
himself has (though he knows it not) 
issued the mandate; that good or evil 
thing from which there is no escape, 
he has, by his own deeds, brought about. 
It may here be urged that man is 
not responsible for his deeds, that these 
are the effects of his character, and 
that he is not responsible for the charac- 
ter, good or bad, which was given him 
at his birth. If character was " given 
him" at birth, this would be true, and 
there would then be no moral law, and 
no need for moral teaching ; but charac- 



8 XLbc toasters ot Beeting 

ters are not given ready-made, they are 
evolved; they are, indeed, effects, the 
products of the moral law itself, that 
is — the products of deeds. Character 
is the combined result of an incalculable 
number of deeds, is, in reality, an accu- 
mulation of deeds which has been piled 
up, so to speak, by the individual during 
vast ages of time and through innumer- 
able lives, by a slow process of orderly 
evolution. A man's birth into this life, 
with his complex character, to which 
he considers himself irresponsibly pre- 
destined, was determined by his own 
deeds in former lives. 

Man is the doer of his own deeds; as 
such he is the maker of his own charac- 
ter; and as the doer of his deeds and the 

maker of his character, he is the moulder 

» 

and shaper of his destiny. He has the 
power to modify and alter his deeds, and 



2)eed0 t Gbaracter, and Besting 9 

every time he acts he modifies his charac- 
ter, and with the modification of his 
character for good or evil, he is pre- 
determining for himself new destinies — 
destinies disastrous or beneficent in 
accordance with the nature of his deeds. 
Character is destiny itself; as a fixed 
combination of deeds, it bears within 
itself the results of those deeds. These 
results lie hidden as moral seeds in the 
dark recesses of the character, awaiting 
their season of germination, growth, and 
fruitage. 

Those things which befall a man are 
the reflections of himself; that destiny 
which pursued him, which he was power- 
less to escape by effort, or avert by 
prayer, was the relentless ghoul of his 
own wrong deeds demanding and en- 
forcing restitution; those blessings and 
curses which come to him unbidden 



io Cbe /Raster^ of Besting 

are the reverberating echoes of the 
sounds which he himself sent forth. 

It is this knowledge of the Perfect 
Law working through and above all 
things; of the Perfect Justice operating 
in and adjusting all human affairs, that 
enables the good man to love his ene- 
mies, and to rise above all hatred, re- 
sentment, and complaining; for he 
knows that only his own can come to 
him, and that, though he be surrounded 
by persecutors, his enemies are but the 
blind instruments of a faultless retri- 
bution; and so he blames them not, but 
calmly receives his accounts, and pa- 
tiently pays his moral debts. 
"f*But this is not all ; he does not merely 
pay his debts; he takes care not to 
contract any further debts. He watches 
himself and makes his deeds faultless. 
While paying off evil accounts, he is 



2>eeDe, Gbaracter, and Destiny 1 1 

laying up good accounts. By putting 
an end to his own sin, he is bringing 
evil and suffering to an end. «-J~ 

And now let us consider how the Law 
operates in particular instances in the 
outworking of destiny through deeds 
and character. First, we will look at 
this present life, for the present is the 
synthesis of the entire past; the net 
result of all that a man has ever thought 
and done is contained within him. 
It is noticeable that sometimes the 
good man fails and the unscrupulous 
man prospers — a fact which seems to 
put all moral maxims as to the good 
results of righteousness out of account — 
and because of this, many people deny 
the operation of any just law in human 
life, and even declare that it is chiefly 
the unjust that prosper. Neverthe- 
less, the moral law exists, and is not 



12 Gbe dftasterg of Dcetin^ 

altered or subverted by shallow con- 
clusions. It should be remembered 
that man is a changing, evolving being. 
The good man was not always good ; the 
bad man was not always bad. Even 
in this life (without, for the moment, 
going back to former lives), there was 
a time, in a large number of instances, 
when the man who is now just, was 
unjust; when he who is now kind, was 
cruel; when he who is now pure, was 
impure. Obversely, there was a time in 
this life, in a number of instances, when 
he who is now unjust, was just; when 
he who is now cruel, was kind; 
when he who is now impure, was pure. 
Thus, the good man who is overtaken 
with calamity to-day is reaping the 
result of his former evil sowing; later 
he will reap the happy result of his 
present good sowing ; while the bad man 



Deefcs, Character, ant) Desting 13 

is now reaping the result of his former 
good sowing; later he will reap the 
result of his present sowing of bad. 
But when just causes (of the effects 
which we see) are not apparent in this 
life, then they were set going in former 
lives; and, indeed, the entire evolution 
of any being, through innumerable 
births and deaths and ever-enlarging 
destinies, may be regarded as one long, 
extended, unbroken line of causes and 
effects; one indestructible, ever-growing, 
ever-changing, and ascending life. 

Characteristics are fixed habits of 
mind, the results of deeds. An act 
repeated a large number of times be- 
comes unconscious, or automatic — that 
is, it then seems to repeat itself without 
any effort on the part of the doer, so 
that it seems to him almost impossible 
not to do it, and then it has become a 



i4 XTbe flkaBtety of Besting 

mental characteristic. Thus, the char- 
acter of an individual at birth is a com- 
bination of habits which he himself has 
built up by his own thoughts and acts 
during the course of his evolution, and 
in accordance with his efforts in this 
life will his character be modified for 
good or evil in the future. 

Here is a poor man out of work. He 
is honest, and is not a shirker. He wants 
work, and cannot get it. He tries 
hard, and continues to fail. Where 
is the justice in his lot? There was 
a time in this man's condition when 
he had plenty of work. He felt bur- 
dened with it; he shirked it, and longed 
for ease. He thought how delightful 
it would be to have nothing to do. 
He did not appreciate the blessedness 
of his lot. His desire for ease is now 
gratified, but the fruit for which he 



5>ce&0, Character, an& Besting is 

longed, and which he thought would 
taste so sweet, has turned to ashes in 
his mouth. The condition which he 
aimed for, namely, to have nothing to 
do, he has reached, and there he is com- 
pelled to remain till his lesson is thor- 
oughly learned. And he is surely 
learning that habitual ease is degrading, 
that to have nothing to do is a condition 
of wretchedness, and that work is a 
noble and blessed thing. His former 
desires and deeds have brought him 
where he is; and now his present desire 
for work, his ceaseless searching and 
asking for it, will just as surely bring 
about its own beneficent result. No 
longer desiring idleness, his present 
condition will, as an effect, the cause 
of which is no longer propagated, soon 
pass away, and he will obtain employ- 
ment; and if his whole mind is now set 



1 6 Gbe dfcaetetg of Destiny 

on work, and he desires it above all 
else, then when it comes he will be over- 
whelmed with it; it will flow in to him 
from all sides, and he will prosper in 
his industry. Then, if he does not 
understand the law of cause and effect 
in human life, he will wonder why work 
comes to him apparently unsought, 
while others who seek it strenuously 
fail to obtain it. 

Nothing comes unbidden; where the 
shadow is, there also is the substance. 
That which comes to the individual 
is the product of his own deeds. As 
cheerful industry leads to greater in- 
dustry and increasing prosperity, and 
labour shirked or undertaken discon- 
tentedly leads to a lesser degree of 
labour and decreasing prosperity, so 
with all the varied conditions of life 
as we see them — they are the effects of 



Deeds, Character, anD Destiny 17 

deeds, destinies wrought by the thoughts 
and deeds of each particular individual. 
So also with the vast variety of charac- 
ters — they are the ripening and ripened 
growth of the sowing of deeds, a sowing 
not confined solely to this visible life, 
but going backward through that infinite 
life which traverses the portals of innu- 
merable births and deaths, and which 
also will extend into the illimitable fu- 
ture, reaping its own harvests, eating the 
sweet and bitter fruits of its own deeds. 
It is thus literally true that when 
men die they "go to heaven or hell," 
in accordance with their deeds. But 
the heaven and hell are in this world. 
The rich man who abused his wealth 
or who obtained his riches by fraud or 
oppression, is reborn in poverty and 
shame. The poor man who used the 
little he possessed wisely and unselfishly 



1 8 Gbe /foastere of Destiny 

is reborn in plenty and honour. The 
cruel and unjust are reborn in the midst 
of harsh and untoward surroundings; 
the kind and just are reborn where 
kind hearts and gentle hands watch 
over and tend them. Thus, with every 
vice and virtue, each receives its own; 
each declares its own destiny. 

But even those who refuse to believe 
in rebirth will find that even in this 
life men almost invariably reap what 
they sow ; and the time is surely coming 
when social and political reformers [will 
pay more attention to the development 
of character than the mere gaining of 
party issues. As the individual reaps 
what he sows, so the nation, being a 
community of individuals, reaps also 
what it sows. Nations become great 
when their leaders are just men; they 
fall and fade when their just men pass 



Deete, Cbaracter, anD Besting 19 

away. Those who are in power set an 
example, good or bad, for the entire 
nation. Great will be the peace and 
prosperity of a nation when there shall 
arise within it a line of statesmen who, 
having first established themselves in 
a lofty integrity of character, shall direct 
the energies of the nation toward the 
culture of virtue and development of 
character, knowing that only through 
personal industry, integrity, and nobility 
can national prosperity proceed. 

Still, above all, is the Great Law, 
calmly and with infallible justice meting 
out to mortals their fleeting destinies, 
tear-stained or smiling, the fabric of 
their hands. Life is a great school for 
the development of character, and all, 
through strife and struggle, vice and vir- 
tue, success and failure, are slowly but 
surely learning the lessons of wisdom. 



THE SCIENCE OF SELF-CONTROL 

We live in a scientific age. Men of 
science are numbered by thousands, 
and they are ceaselessly searching, an- 
alyzing, and experimenting with a view 
to discovery and the increase of know- 
ledge. The shelves of our libraries, 
both public and private, are heavy with 
their load of imposing volumes on 
scientific subjects, and the wonderful 
achievements of modern science are 
always before us — whether in our homes 
or in our streets, in country or town, 
on land or sea — there shall we have 
before us some marvellous device, some 
recent accomplishment of science, for 
adding to our comfort, increasing our 



Gbe Science of Self-control 21 

speed, or saving the labour of our 

hands. 

Yet, with all our vast store of scientific 
knowledge, and its startling and rapidly 
increasing results in the world of dis- 
covery and invention, there is, in this 
age, one branch of science which has so 
far fallen into decay as to have become 
almost forgotten; a science, neverthe- 
less, which is of greater importance than 
all the other sciences combined, and 
without which all science would but 
subserve the ends of selfishness, and aid 
in man's destruction — I refer to the 
Science of Self-control. 

Our modern scientists study the 
elements and forces which are outside 
themselves, with the object of controlling 
and utilizing them. The ancients stud- 
ied the elements and forces which were 
within themselves, with a view to con- 



22 dbe ffh astern of Weetinv 

trolling and utilizing them, and the an- 
cients produced such mighty Masters 
of knowledge in this direction, that to 
this day they are held in reverence as 
gods, and the vast religious organiza- 
tions of the world are based upon their 
achievements. 

Wonderful as are the forces in nature, 
they are vastly inferior to that com- 
bination of intelligent forces which 
comprise the mind of man, and which 
dominate and direct the blind mechani- 
cal forces of nature. Therefore, it 
follows that, to understand, control, 
and direct the inner forces of passion, 
desire, will, and intellect, is to be in 
possession of the destinies of men and 
nations. 

As in ordinary science, there are, 
in this divine science, degrees of attain- 
ment; and a man is great in knowledge, 



Zbc Science ot Self-control 23 

great in himself, and great in his influ- 
ence on the world, in the measure that 
he is great in self-control. 

He who understands and dominates 
the forces of external nature is the 
natural scientist; but he who under- 
stands and dominates the internal forces 
of the mind is the divine scientist; and 
the laws which operate in gaining a 
knowledge of external appearances, oper- 
ate also in gaining a knowledge of inter- 
nal verities. 

A man cannot become an accom- 
plished scientist in a few weeks or 
months, nay, not even in a few years. 
But only after many years of painstak- 
ing investigation can he speak with 
authority, and be ranked among the 
masters of science. Likewise, a man 
cannot acquire self-control, and become 
possessed of the wisdom and peace- 



24 Gbe /toaster^ ot Destiny 

giving knowledge which that self-control 
confers, but by many years of patient 
labour; a labour which is all the more 
arduous because it is silent, and both 
unrecognized and unappreciated by oth- 
ers; and he who would pursue this 
science successfully must learn to stand 
alone, and to toil unrewarded, as far 
as any outward emolument is concerned. 

The natural scientist pursues, in ac- 
quiring his particular kind of knowledge, 
the following five orderly and sequential 
steps : 

i. Observation: that is, he closely 
and persistently observes the facts of 
nature. 

2. Experiment. Having become ac- 
quainted, by repeated observations, 
with certain facts, he experiments with 
those facts, with a view to the discovery 
of natural laws. He puts his facts 



Gbe Science of Selt*Control 25 

through rigid processes of analysis, and 
so finds out what is useless and what of 
value; and he rejects the former and 
retains the latter. 

3. Classification. Having accumu- 
lated and verified a mass of facts by- 
numberless observations and experi- 
ments, he commences to classify those 
facts, to arrange them in orderly groups 
with the object of discovering some 
underlying law, some hidden and unify- 
ing principle, which governs, regulates, 
and binds together these facts. 

4. Deduction. Thus he passes on to 
the fourth step of deduction. From the 
facts and results which are before him, 
he discovers certain invariable modes 
of action, and thus reveals the hidden 
laws of things. 

5. Knowledge. Having proven and 
established certain laws, it may be said 



26 XTbe /Ift asters of Besting 

of such a man that he knows. He is a 
scientist, a man of knowledge. 

But the attainment of scientific know- 
ledge is not the end, great as it is. 
Men do not attain knowledge for them- 
selves alone, nor to keep it locked 
secretly in their hearts, like a beauti- 
ful jewel in a dark chest. The end of 
such knowledge is use, service, the in- 
crease of the comfort and happiness of 
the world. Thus, when a man has be- 
come a scientist, he gives the world the 
benefit of his knowledge, and unself- 
ishly bestows upon mankind the results 
of all his labours. Thus, beyond know- 
ledge, there is a further step of Use: 
that is, the right and unselfish use of the 
knowledge acquired; the application of 
knowledge to invention for the common 
weal. 

It will be noted that the five steps or 



TZbe Science of Self* Control 27 

processes enumerated follow in orderly 
succession, and that no man can become 
a scientist who omits any one of them. 
Without the first step of systematic 
observation, for instance, he could not 
even enter the realm of knowledge of 
nature's secrets. At first, the searcher 
for such knowledge has before him a 
universe of things: these things he does 
not understand; many of them, indeed, 
seem to be irreconcilably opposed one 
to the other, and there is apparent con- 
fusion ; but by patiently and laboriously 
pursuing these five processes, he discov- 
ers the order, nature, and essences of 
things; perceives the central law or 
laws which bind them together in har- 
monious relationship, and so puts an 
end to confusion and ignorance. 

As with the natural scientist, so with 
the divine scientist; he must pursue, 



28 Gbe /foaeterg of Weetiny 

with the same self-sacrificing diligence, 
five progressive steps in the attainment 
of self-knowledge, self-control. These 
five steps are the same as with the nat- 
ural scientist, but the process is reversed, 
the mind, instead of being centred upon 
external things, is turned back upon 
itself, and the investigations are pur- 
sued in the realm of mind (of one's 
own mind) instead of in that of matter. 
At first, the searcher for divine know- 
ledge is confronted with that mass of 
desires, passions, emotions, ideas, and 
intellections which he calls himself, 
which is the basis of all his actions, and 
from which his life proceeds. This 
combination of invisible, yet powerful, 
forces appears confusedly; some of 
them stand, apparently, in direct con- 
flict with each other, without any appear- 
ance or hope of reconciliation ; his mind 



Gbe Science of Self-control 29 

in its entirety, too, with his life which 
proceeds from that mind, does not seem 
to have any equitable relation to many 
other minds and lives about him, and 
altogether there is a condition of pain 
and confusion from which he would 
fain escape. Thus, he begins by keenly 
realizing his state of ignorance, for no 
one could acquire either natural or 
divine knowledge, if he were convinced 
that without study or labour he already 
possessed it. With such perception 
of one's ignorance, there comes the 
desire for knowledge, and the novice in 
self-control enters upon the ascending 
pathway, in which are the following five 
steps : 

1 . Introspection. This coincides with 
the observation of the natural scientist. 
The mental eye is turned like a search- 
light upon the inner things of the mind, 



30 Gbe /toaster^ of Besting 

and its subtle and ever- varying processes 
are observed and carefully noted. This 
stepping aside from selfish gratifications, 
from the excitements of worldly pleas- 
ures and ambitions, in order to observe, 
with the object of understanding, one's 
nature, is the beginning of self-control. 
Hitherto, the man has been blindly 
and impotently borne along by the 
impulses of his nature, the mere crea- 
ture of things and circumstances, but 
now he puts a check upon his impulses 
and, instead of being controlled, begins 
to control. 

2. Self -analysis. Having observed 
the tendencies of the mind, they are then 
closely examined, and are put through 
a rigid process of analysis. The evil 
tendencies (those that produce pain- 
ful effects) are separated from the good 
tendencies (those that produce peace- 



Gbe Science of Self-control 31 

ful effects) ; and the various tendencies, 
with the particular actions they pro- 
duce, and the definite results which 
invariably spring from these actions, 
are gradually grasped by the under- 
standing, which is at last enabled to 
follow them in their swift and subtle 
interplay and profound ramifications. 
It is a process of testing and proving, 
and, for the searcher, a period of being 
tested and proved. 

3. Adjustment. By this time, the 
practical student of things divine has 
clearly before him every tendency and 
aspect of his nature, down to the pro- 
foundest promptings of his mind, and 
the most subtle motives of his heart. 
There is not a spot or corner left, which 
he has not explored and illuminated 
with the light of self-examination. 
He is familiar with every weak and 



32 Gbe toasters of Besting 

selfish point, every strong and virtuous 
quality. It is considered the height 
of wisdom to be able to see ourselves 
as others see us, but the practiser of 
self-control goes far beyond this : he not 
only sees himself as others see him, he 
sees himself as he is. Thus, standing 
face to face with himself, not striving 
to hide away from any secret fault; no 
longer defending himself with pleasant 
flatteries ; neither underrating nor over- 
rating himself or his powers, and no 
more cursed with self-praise or self-pity, 
he sees the full magnitude of the task 
which lies before him; sees clearly 
ahead the heights of self-control, and 
knows what work he has to do to reach 
them. He is no longer in a state of 
confusion, but has gained a glimpse of 
the laws which operate in the world 
of thought, and he now begins to adjust 



Gbe Science of Self-control 33 

his mind in accordance with those laws. 
This is a process of weeding, sifting, 
cleansing. As the farmer weeds, cleans, 
and prepares the ground for his crops, 
so the student removes the weeds of 
evil from his mind, cleanses and purifies 
it preparatory to sowing the seeds of 
righteous actions which shall produce 
the harvest of a well-ordered life. 

4. Righteousness. Having adjusted 
his thoughts and deeds to those minor 
laws which operate in mental activities in 
the production of pain and pleasure, un- 
rest and peace, sorrow and bliss, he now 
perceives that there is involved in those 
laws one Great Central Law which, 
like the law of gravitation in the natural 
world, is supreme in the world of mind; 
a law to which all thoughts and deeds 
are subservient, and by which they are 
regulated and kept in their proper 



34 Gbe d&astetE of Destiny 

sphere. This is the law of Justice or 
Righteousness, which is universal and 
supreme. To this law he now conforms. 
Instead of thinking and acting blindly, 
as the nature is stimulated and appealed 
to by outward things, he subordinates 
his thoughts and deeds to this central 
principle. He no longer acts from self, 
but does what is right — what is universally 
and eternally right. He is no longer the 
abject slave of his nature and circum- 
stances, he is the master of his nature 
and circumstances. He is no longer 
carried hither and thither on the forces 
of his mind; he controls and guides 
those forces to the accomplishment of 
his purposes. Thus, having his nature 
in control and subjection, not thinking 
thoughts nor doing deeds which oppose 
the righteous law, and which, there- 
fore, that law annuls with suffering and 



Gbe Science of Self = Control 35 

defeat, he rises above the dominion of 
sin and sorrow, ignorance and doubt, 
and is strong, calm, and peaceful. 

5. Pure Knowledge. By thinking 
right and acting right, he proves, by 
experience, the existence of the divine 
law on which the mind is framed, and 
which is the guiding and unifying prin- 
ciple in all human affairs and events, 
whether individual or national. Thus, 
by perfecting himself in self-control, 
he acquires divine knowledge ; he reaches 
the point where it may be said of him, 
as of the natural scientist, that he knows. 
He has mastered the science of self- 
control, and has brought knowledge 
out of ignorance, order out of confusion. 
He has acquired that knowledge of self 
which includes knowledge of all men; 
that knowledge of one's own life which 
embraces knowledge of all lives — for all 



36 Gbe flfcastetE of Destiny 

minds are the same in essence (differing 
only in degree), are framed upon the 
same law; and the same thoughts and 
acts, by whatsoever individual they are 
wrought, will always produce the same 
results. 

But this divine and peace-bestowing 
knowledge, as in the case of the natural 
scientist, is not gained for one's self 
alone; for if this were so, the aim of 
evolution would be frustrated, and it is 
not in the nature of things to fall short 
of ripening and accomplishment; and, 
indeed, he who thought to gain this 
knowledge solely for his own happiness 
would most surely fail. So, beyond the 
fifth step of Pure Knowledge, there is a 
still further one of Wisdom, which is 
the right application of the knowledge 
acquired ; the pouring out upon the 
world, unselfishly and without stint, 



Gbe Science of Self-control 37 

the result of one's labours, thus accel- 
erating progress and uplifting humanity. 
It may be said of men who have not 
gone back into their own nature to con- 
trol and purify it, that they cannot 
clearly distinguish between good and 
evil, right and wrong. They reach after 
those things which they think will give 
them pleasure, and try to avoid those 
things which they believe will cause them 
pain. The source of their actions is 
self, and they only discover right pain- 
fully and in a fragmentary way, by 
periodically passing through severe suf- 
ferings, and lashings of conscience. But 
he who practises self-control, passing 
through the five processes, which are five 
stages of growth, gains that knowledge 
which enables him to act from the moral 
law which sustains the universe. He 
knows good and evil, right and wrong, 



38 Gbe dft asters of ©eating 

and, thus knowing them, lives in accor- 
dance with good and right. He no 
longer needs to consider what is pleasant 
or what is unpleasant, but does what is 
right ; his nature is in harmony with his 
conscience, and there is no remorse; 
his mind is in unison with the Great 
Law, and there is no more suffering and 
sin; for him evil is ended, and good is 
all in all. 



CAUSE AND EFFECT IN HUMAN 
CONDUCT 

It is an axiom with the scientists that 
every effect is related to a cause. Apply 
this to the realm of human conduct, 
and there is revealed the principle of 
justice. 

Every scientist knows (and now all 
men believe) that perfect harmony pre- 
vails throughout every portion of the 
physical universe, from the speck of 
dust to the greatest sun. Everywhere 
there is exquisite adjustment. In the 
sidereal universe, with its millions of 
suns rolling majestically through space 
and carrying with them their respective 
systems of revolving planets, its vast 
39 



4o tlbe /i&asterE ot Deetfng 

nebulae, its seas of meteors, and its vast 
army of comets travelling through il- 
limitable space with inconceivable velo- 
city, perfect order prevails; and again, 
in the natural world, with its multitu- 
dinous aspects of life, and its infinite 
variety of forms, there are the clearly 
defined limits of specific laws, through 
the operation of which all confusion is 
avoided, and unity and harmony eter- 
nally obtain. If this universal harmony 
could be arbitrarily broken, even in one 
small particular, the universe would 
cease to be; there could be no cosmos, 
but only universal chaos. Nor can it 
be possible in such a universe of law 
that there should exist any personal 
power which is above, outside, and supe- 
rior to, such law in the sense that it 
can defy it, or set it aside ; for whatsoever 
beings exist, whether they be men or 



Cause anfc Effect in Ibuman Conduct 41 

gods, they exist by virtue of such law; 
and the highest, best, and wisest among 
all beings would manifest his greater 
wisdom by his more complete obedience 
to that law which is wiser than wisdom, 
and than which nothing more perfect 
could be devised. 

All things, whether visible or invisible, 
are subservient to, and fall within the 
scope of, this infinite and eternal law 
of causation. As all things seen obey it, 
so all things unseen — the thoughts and 
deeds of men, whether secret or open — 
cannot escape it. 

"Do right, it recompenseth; do one wrong, 
The equal retribution must be made. ' 

Perfect justice upholds the universe; 
perfect justice regulates human life and 
conduct. All the varying conditions 
of life, as they obtain in the world to- 



42 XLbc /Rasters of Destfns 

day, are the result of this law reacting 
on human conduct. Man can (and does) 
choose what causes he shall set in opera- 
tion, but he cannot change the nature 
of effects; he can decide what thoughts 
he shall think, and what deeds he shall 
do, but he has no power over the re- 
sults of those thoughts and deeds; 
these are regulated by the overruling 
law. 

Man has all power to act, but his 
power ends with the act committed. 
The result of the act cannot be altered, 
annulled, or escaped; it is irrevocable. 
Evil thoughts and deeds produce con- 
ditions of suffering; good thoughts and 
deeds determine conditions of blessed- 
ness. Thus man's power is limited to, 
and his blessedness or misery is deter- 
mined by, his own conduct. To know 
this truth, renders life simple, plain, 



Cause anD JBffcct in Ibuman Conduct 43 

and unmistakable ; all the crooked paths 
are straightened out, the heights of 
wisdom are revealed, and the open door 
to salvation from evil and suffering is 
perceived and entered. 

Life may be likened to a sum in arith- 
metic. It is bewilderingly difficult and 
complex to the pupil who has not yet 
grasped the key to its correct solution, 
but once this is perceived and laid hold 
of, it becomes as astonishingly simple 
as it was formerly profoundly perplex- 
ing. Some idea of this relative simpli- 
city and complexity of life may be 
grasped by fully recognizing and realizing 
the fact that, while there are scores, and 
perhaps hundreds, of ways in which a 
sum may be done wrong, there is only 
one way by which it can be done right, 
and that when that right way is found 
the pupil knows it to be the right; his 



44 Gbe /toaster^ of Destiny 

perplexity vanishes, and he knows that 
he has mastered the problem. 

It is true that the pupil, while doing 
his sum incorrectly, may (and frequently 
does) think he has done it correctly, 
but he is not sure; his perplexity is still 
there, and if he is an earnest and apt 
pupil, he will recognize his own error 
when it is pointed out by the teacher. 
So in life, men may think they are 
living rightly while they are continuing, 
through ignorance, to live wrongly; but 
the presence of doubt, perplexity, and 
unhappiness are sure indications that 
the right way has not yet been found. 

There are foolish and careless pupils 
who would like to pass a sum as correct 
before they have acquired a true know- 
ledge of figures, but the eye and skill of 
the teacher quickly detect and expose 
the fallacy. So in life there can be no 



Cause anD Effect in tbuman Conduct 45 

falsifying of results; the eye of the 
Great Law reveals and exposes. Twice 
five will make ten to all eternity, and 
no amount of ignorance, stupidity, or de- 
lusion can bring the result up to eleven. 

If one looks superficially at a piece 
of cloth, he sees it as a piece of cloth, 
but if he goes further and inquires into 
its manufacture, and examines it closely 
and attentively, he sees that it is com- 
posed of a combination of individual 
threads, and that, while all the threads 
are interdependent, each thread pursues 
its own way throughout, never becom- 
ing confused with its sister thread. It is 
this entire absence of confusion between 
the particular threads which constitutes 
the finished work a piece of cloth; any 
inharmonious commingling of the thread 
would result in a bundle of waste or a 
useless rag. 



46 Gbe dfoastetB of Besting 

Life is like a piece of cloth, and the 
threads of which it is composed are indi- 
vidual lives. The threads, while being 
interdependent, are not confounded 
one with the other. Each follows its 
own course. Each individual suffers 
and enjoys the consequences of his own 
deeds, and not of the deeds of another. 
The course of each is simple and definite ; 
the whole forming a complicated, yet 
harmonious, {combination of sequences. 
There are action and reaction, deed and 
consequence, cause and effect, and the 
counterbalancing reaction, consequence, 
and effect is always in exact ratio with 
the initiatory impulse. 

A durable and satisfactory piece of 
cloth cannot be made from shoddy 
material, and the threads of selfish 
thoughts and bad deeds will not produce 
a useful and beautiful life — a life that 



Cause anD Effect in Ibuman Conduct 47 

will wear well, and bear close inspection. 
Each man makes or mars his own life ; 
it is not made or marred by his neigh- 
bour, or by anything external to himself. 
Each thought he thinks, each deed he 
does, is another thread — shoddy or gen- 
uine — woven into the garment of his 
life; and as he makes the garment so 
must he wear it. He is not responsible 
for his neighbour's deeds; he is not the 
custodian of his neighbour's actions; he 
is responsible only for his own deeds; 
he is the custodian of his own actions. 
The "problem of evil" subsists in a 
man's own evil deeds, and it is solved 
when those deeds are purified. Says 
Rosseau : 

"Man, seek no longer the origin of evil; 
thou thyself art its origin. " 

Effect can never be divorced from 



48 Gbe toasters of Destiny 

cause; it can never be of a different 
nature from cause. Emerson says : 

"Justice is not postponed; a perfect equity 
adjusts the balance in all parts of life. " 

And there is a profound sense in which 
cause and effect are simultaneous, and 
form one perfect whole. Thus, upon 
the instant that a man thinks, say, a 
cruel thought, or does a cruel deed, 
that same instant he has injured his 
own mind; he is not the same man he 
was the previous instant; he is a little 
viler and a little more unhappy; and a 
number of such successive thoughts 
and deeds would produce a cruel and 
wretched man. The same thing applies 
to the contrary — the thinking of a kind 
thought, or doing a kind deed — an im- 
mediate nobility and happiness attend it ; 
the man is better than he was before, 



Cause anD Ettect in Ibuman ConDuct 49 

and a number of such deeds would pro- 
duce a great and blissful soul. 

Thus individual human conduct deter- 
mines, by the faultless law of cause and 
effect, individual merit or demerit, in- 
dividual greatness or meanness, individ- 
ual happiness or wretchedness. What 
a man thinks, that he does; what he 
does, that he is. If he is perplexed, 
unhappy, restless, or wretched, let him 
look to himself, for there and nowhere 
else is the source of all his trouble. 



TRAINING OF THE WILL 

Without strength of mind, nothing 
worthy of accomplishment can be done, 
and the cultivation of that steadfastness 
and stability of character which is com- 
monly called "will-power" is one of the 
foremost duties of man, for its possession 
is essentially necessary both to his tem- 
poral and eternal well-being. Fixedness 
of purpose is at the root of all successful 
efforts, whether in things worldly or 
spiritual, and without it man cannot be 
otherwise than wretched, and dependent 
upon others for that support which 
should be found within himself. 

The mystery which has been thrown 
around the subject of cultivation of the 
50 



Graining of tbe Traill 51 

will by those who advertise to sell 
"occult advice" on the matter for so 
many dollars, should be avoided and 
dispelled, for nothing could be further 
removed from secrecy and mystery 
than the practical methods by which 
alone strength of will can be developed. 

The true path of will-cultivation is 
only to be found in the common every- 
day life of the individual, and so obvi- 
ous and simple is it that the majority, 
looking for something complicated and 
mysterious, pass it by unnoticed. 

A little logical thought will soon con- 
vince a man that he cannot be both weak 
and strong at the same time, that he 
cannot develop a stronger will while 
remaining a slave to weak indulgences, 
and that, therefore, the direct and only 
way to that greater strength is to assail 
and conquer his weaknesses. All the 



52 Cbe /toasters of Besting 

means for the cultivation of the will are 
already at hand in the mind and life of 
the individual; they reside in the weak 
side of his character, by attacking 
and vanquishing which the necessary 
strength of will will be developed. He 
who has succeeded in grasping this sim- 
ple, preliminary truth, will perceive that 
the whole science of will-cultivation is 
embodied in the following seven rules: 

i. Break off bad habits. 

2. Form good habits. 

3. Give scrupulous attention to the duty 

of the present moment. 

4. Do vigorously, and at once, whatever 

has to be done. 

5. Live by rule. 

6. Control the tongue. 

7. Control the mind. 

Anyone who earnestly meditates upon, 
and diligently practises, the above rules, 
will not fail to develop that purity of 



Graining of tbe mull 53 

purpose and power of will which will 
enable him to successfully cope with 
every difficulty, and pass triumphantly 
through every emergency. 

It will be seen that the first step is 
the breaking away from bad habits. 
This is no easy task. It demands the 
putting forth of great efforts, or a suc- 
cession of efforts, and it is by such 
efforts that the will can alone be invigo- 
rated and fortified. If one refuses to 
take the first step, he cannot increase 
in will-power, for by submitting to a bad 
habit, because of the immediate pleasure 
which it affords, one forfeits the right 
to rule over himself, and is so far a 
weak slave. He who thus avoids self- 
discipline, and looks about for some 
"occult secrets" for gaining will-power 
at the expenditure of little or no effort 
on his part, is deluding himself, and is 



54 Gbe Masters of Destiny 

weakening the will-power which he al- 
ready possesses. 

The increased strength of will which is 
gained by success in overcoming bad 
habits enables one to initiate good hab- 
its; for, while the conquering of a bad 
habit requires merely strength of pur- 
pose, the forming of a new one necessi- 
tates the intelligent direction of purpose. 
To do this, a man must be mentally 
active and energetic, and must keep a 
constant watch upon himself. As a 
man succeeds in perfecting himself in 
the second rule, it will not be very diffi- 
cult for him to observe the third, that 
of giving scrupulous attention to the 
duty of the present moment. Thorough- 
ness is a step in the development of the 
will which cannot be passed over. Slip- 
shod work is an indication of weakness. 
Perfection should be aimed at, even in 



Graining of tbe TWlfH 55 

the smallest task. By not dividing the 
mind, but giving the whole attention to 
each separate task as it presents itself, 
singleness of purpose and intense con- 
centration of mind are gradually gained 
— two mental powers which give weight 
and worth of character, and bring repose 
and joy to their possessor. 

The fourth rule — that of doing vigo- 
rously, and at once, whatever has to be 
done — is equally important. Idleness 
and a strong will cannot go together, 
and procrastination is a total barrier to 
the acquisition of purposeful action. 
Nothing should be "put off" until 
another time, not even for a few minutes. 
That which ought to be done now 
should be done now. This seems a little 
thing, but it is of far-reaching impor- 
tance. It leads to strength, success, 
and peace. 



56 Gbe Masters of Steetfns 

The man who is to manifest a culti- 
vated will must also live by certain 
fixed rules. He must not blindly grat- 
ify his passions and impulses, but must 
school them to obedience. He should 
live according to principle, and not ac- 
cording to passion. He should decide 
what he will eat and drink and wear, 
and what he will not eat and drink and 
wear; how many meals per day he will 
have, and at what times he will have 
them ; at what time he will go to bed, and 
at what time get up. He should make 
rules for the right government of his 
conduct in every department of his life, 
and should religiously adhere to them. 
To live loosely and indiscriminately, 
eating and drinking and sensually in- 
dulging at the beck and call of appetite 
and inclination, is to be a mere animal, 
and not a man with will and reason. 



Graining of tbe Tttflill 57 

The beast in man must be scourged and 
disciplined and brought into subjection, 
and this can only be done by training 
the mind and life on certain fixed rules 
of right conduct. The saint attains to 
holiness by not violating his vows, and 
the man who lives according to good 
and fixed rules, is strong to accomplish 
his purpose. 

The sixth rule, that of controlling the 
tongue, must be practised until one has 
perfect command of his speech, so that 
he utters nothing in peevishness, anger, 
irritability, or with evil intent. The 
man of strong will does not allow his 
tongue to run thoughtlessly and without 
check. 

All these six rules, if faithfully prac- 
tised, will lead up to the seventh, which 
is the most important of them all — 
namely, rightly controlling the mind. 



58 XTbe /I&astetg of Destiny 

Self-control is the most essential thing 
in life, yet least understood; but 
he who patiently practises the rules 
herein laid down, bringing them into 
requisition in all his ways and under- 
takings, will learn, by his own experience 
and efforts, how to control and train 
his mind, and to earn thereby the su- 
preme crown of manhood— the crown 
of a perfectly poised will. 



THOROUGHNESS 

Thoroughness consists in doing little 
things as though they were the greatest 
things in the world. That the little 
things of life are of primary importance, 
is a truth not generally understood, 
and the thought that little things can 
be neglected, thrown aside, or slurred 
over, is at the root of that lack of 
thoroughness which is so common, and 
which results in imperfect work and 
unhappy lives. 

When one understands that the great 
things of the world and of life consist 
of a combination of small things, and 
that without this aggregation of small 
things the great things would be non- 
59 



60 Gbe fl&astetE of Besting 

existent, then he begins to pay careful 
attention to those things which he for- 
merly regarded as insignificant. He 
thus acquires the quality of thorough- 
ness, and becomes a man of usefulness 
and influence ; for the possession or non- 
possession of this one quality may mean 
all the difference between a life of peace 
and power, and one of misery and 
weakness. 

Every employer of labour knows how 
comparatively rare this quality is — 
how difficult it is to find men and wo- 
men who will put thought and energy 
into their work, and do it completely 
and satisfactorily. Bad workmanship 
abounds. Skill and excellence are ac- 
quired by few. Thoughtlessness, care- 
lessness, and laziness are such common 
vices that it should cease to appear 
strange that, in spite of " social reform, " 



Gborougbness 6r 

the ranks of the unemployed should 
continue to swell, for those who scamp 
their work to-day will, another day, in 
the hour of deep necessity, look and ask 
for work in vain. 

The law of ' ' the survival of the fittest " 
is not based on cruelty, it is based on 
justice; it is one aspect of that divine 
equity which everywhere prevails. Vice 
is "beaten with many stripes''; if it 
were not so, how could virtue be devel- 
oped? The thoughtless and lazy can- 
not take precedence of, or stand equally 
with, the thoughtful and industrious. 
A friend of mine tells me that his father 
gave all his children the following piece 
of advice : 

"Whatever your future work may be, put 
your whole mind upon it and do it thor- 
oughly; you need then have no fear as to 
your welfare, for there are so many who are 



62 Gbe /Rasters ot Destiny 

careless and negligent that the services of 
the thorough man are always in demand." 

I know those who have, for years, 
tried almost in vain to secure competent 
workmanship in spheres which do not 
require exceptional skill, but which 
call chiefly for forethought, energy, 
and conscientious care. They have 
discharged one after another for negli- 
gence, laziness, incompetence, and per- 
sistent breaches of duty — not to mention 
other vices which have no bearing on 
this subject; yet the vast army of the 
unemployed continues to cry out against 
the laws, against society, and against 
Heaven. 

The cause of this common lack of 
thoroughness is not far to seek; it lies 
in that thirst for pleasure which not only 
creates a distaste for steady labour, 
but renders one incapable of doing the 



Gborougbne03 63 

best work, and of properly fulfilling 
one's duty. A short time ago, a case 
came under my observation (one of 
many such), of a poor woman who was 
given, at her earnest appeal, a respon- 
sible and lucrative position. She had 
been at her post only a few days when 
she began to talk of the "pleasure trips " 
she was going to have now she had 
come to that place. She was discharged 
at the end of a month for negligence 
and incompetence. 

As two objects cannot occupy the 
same space at the same time, so the 
mind that is occupied with pleasure 
cannot also be concentrated upon the 
perfect performance of duty. Pleasure 
has its own place and time, but its con- 
sideration should not be allowed to enter 
the mind during those hours which 
should be devoted to duty. Those 



64 Gbe /iftaetetE of Weetiny 

who, while engaged in their worldly- 
task, are continually dwelling upon an- 
ticipated pleasures, cannot do other- 
wise than bungle through their work, 
or even neglect it when their pleasure 
seems to be at stake. 

Thoroughness is completeness, per- 
fection; it means doing a thing so well 
that there is nothing left to be desired; 
it means doing one's work, if not better 
than anyone else can do it, at least not 
worse than the best that others do. 
It means the exercise of much thought, 
the putting forth of great energy, the 
persistent application of the mind to 
its task, the cultivation of patience, 
perseverance, and a high sense of duty. 
An ancient teacher said, "If anything 
has to be done, let a man do it, let 
him attack it vigorously"; and an- 
other teacher said, "Whatsoever thy 



Gborougbness 65 

hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might. " 

He who lacks thoroughness in his 
worldly duties, will also lack the same 
quality in spiritual things. He will not 
improve his character; will be weak and 
half-hearted in his religion, and will not 
accomplish any good and useful end. 
The man who keeps one eye on worldly 
pleasure and the other on religion, and 
who thinks he can have the advantage 
of both conditions, will not be thorough 
either in his pleasure-seeking or his re- 
ligion, but will make a sorry business 
of both. It is better to be a whole- 
souled worldling than a half-hearted re- 
ligionist ; better to give the entire mind 
to a lower thing than half of it to a 
higher. 

It is preferable to be thorough, even 
if it be in a bad or selfish direction, 

6 



66 Gbe /Rasters of Destine 

rather than inefficient and squeamish 
in good directions, for thoroughness 
leads more rapidly to the development 
of character and the acquisition of wis- 
dom ; it accelerates progress and unf old- 
ment; and while it leads the bad to 
something better, it spurs the good to 
higher and ever higher heights of use- 
fulness and power. 



MIND-BUILDING AND LIFE- 
BUILDING 

Everything both in nature and the 
works of man is produced by a process 
of building. The rock is built up of 
atoms; the plant, the animal, and man 
are built up of cells; a house is built of 
bricks, and a book is built of letters. 
A world is composed of a large number 
of forms, and a city of a large number 
of houses. The arts, sciences, and in- 
stitutions of a nation are built up by 
the efforts of individuals. The history 
of a nation is the building of its deeds. 

The process of building necessitates 

the alternate process of breaking down. 

Old forms that have served their purpose 
67 



68 Gbe /Rasters of Deetins 

are broken up, and the material of 
which they are composed enters into 
new combinations. There is reciprocal 
integration and disintegration. In all 
compounded bodies, old cells are cease- 
lessly being broken up, and new cells 
are formed to take their place. The 
works of man also require to be contin- 
ually renewed until they have become 
old and useless, when they are torn 
down in order that some better purpose 
may be served. These two processes 
of breaking down and building up in 
Nature are called death and life; in the 
artificial works of man they are called 
destruction and restoration. 

This dual process, which obtains uni- 
versally in things visible, also obtains 
universally in things invisible. As a 
body is built of cells, and a house of 
bricks, so a man's mind is built of 



flMn&*;JBuU&tng anD Xite^JSuilDing dg 

thoughts. The various characters of 
men are none other than compounds 
of thoughts of varying combinations. 
Herein we see the deep truth of the say- 
ing, "As a man thinketh in his heart, 
so is he. " Individual characteristics 
are fixed processes of thought; that is, 
they are fixed in the sense that they 
have become such an integral part of 
the character that they can be only 
altered or removed by a protracted 
effort of the will, and by much self- 
discipline. Character is built in the 
same way as a tree or a house is built — 
namely, by the ceaseless addition of 
new material, and that material is 
thought. By the aid of millions of 
bricks a city is built; by the aid of 
millions of thoughts a mind, a char- 
acter, is built. "Rome was not built 
in a day, " and a Buddha, a Plato, 



70 Zbc /flbasterg of Destiny 

or a Shakespeare is not built in a 
lifetime. 

Every man is a mind-builder, whether 
he recognizes it or not. Every man 
must perforce think, and every thought 
is another brick laid down in the edifice 
of mind. Such " brick-laying' ' is done 
loosely and carelessly by a vast number 
of people, the result being unstable and 
tottering characters that are ready to 
go down under the first little gust of 
trouble or temptation. Some, also, 
put into the building of their minds 
large numbers of impure thoughts; 
these are so many rotten bricks that 
crumble away as fast as they are put in, 
leaving always an unfinished and un- 
sightly building, and one which can 
afford no comfort and no shelter for 
its possessor. Debilitating thoughts 
about one's health, enervating thoughts 



Osit\D*mimw anD Itfe^ufRrtng 71 

concerning unlawful pleasures, weak- 
ening thoughts of failure, and sickly 
thoughts of self-pity and self-praise are 
useless bricks with which no substantial 
mind-temple can be raised. 

Pure thoughts, wisely chosen and 
well placed, are so many durable bricks 
which will never crumble away, and 
from which a finished and beautiful 
building, and one which affords comfort 
and shelter for its possessor, can be 
rapidly erected. Bracing thoughts of 
strength, of confidence, of duty ; inspiring 
thoughts of a large, free, unfettered, 
and unselfish life, are useful bricks with 
which a substantial mind-temple can be 
raised ; and the building of such a temple 
necessitates that old and useless habits of 
thought be broken down and destroyed. 

" Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul! 
As the swift seasons roll. " 



72 Gbe Masters of 2>e6ttne 

Each man is the builder of himself. 
If he is the occupant of a jerry-built 
hovel of a mind that lets in the rains of 
many troubles, and through which blow 
the keen winds of oft-recurring disap- 
pointments, let him get to work to build 
a more noble mansion which will afford 
him better protection against those men- 
tal elements. Trying to weakly shift 
the responsibility for his jerry-build- 
ing on to the devil, or his forefathers, 
or anything or anybody but himself, 
will neither add to his comfort, nor 
help him to build a better habitation. 

When he wakes up to a sense of his 
responsibility, and an approximate es- 
timate of his power, then he will com- 
mence to build like a true workman, 
and will produce a symmetrical and 
finished character that will endure, and 
be cherished by posterity, and which, 



/BMnO^utlDfng anD Xffe*;fi6uflDfng 73 

while affording a never-failing protec- 
tion for himself, will continue to give 
shelter to many a struggling one when 
he has passed away. 

The whole visible universe is framed 
on a few mathematical principles. All 
the wonderful works of man in the 
material world have been brought about 
by the rigid observance of a few under- 
lying principles; and all that there is to 
the making of a successful, happy, and 
beautiful life, is the knowledge and ap- 
plication of a few simple, root principles. 

If a man is to erect a building that is 
to resist the fiercest storms, he must 
build it on a simple, mathematical 
principle, or law, such as the square 
or the circle; if he ignores this, his edi- 
fice will topple down even before it is 
finished. 

Likewise, if a man is to build up a 



74 Gbe /Rasters of Destiny 

successful, strong, and exemplary life — 
a life that will stoutly resist the fiercest 
storms of adversity and temptation — 
it must be framed on a few simple, 
undeviating moral principles. 

Four of these principles are — Jus- 
tice, Rectitude, Sincerity, and Kindness. 
These four ethical truths are to the 
making of a life what the four lines of 
a square are to the building of a house. 
If a man ignores them and thinks to 
obtain success and happiness and peace 
by injustice, trickery, and selfishness, 
he is in the position of a builder who 
imagines he can build a strong and dur- 
able habitation while ignoring the rela- 
tive arrangement of mathematical lines, 
and he will, in the end, obtain only 
disappointment and failure. 

He may, for a time, make money, 
which will delude him into believing 



mtnb* JButl&fng anD 3Ltte=J3uflDing 75 

that injustice and dishonesty pay well; 
but in reality his life is so weak and 
unstable that it is ready at any moment 
to fall; and when a critical period comes, 
as come it must, his affairs, his reputa- 
tion, and his riches crumble to ruins, and 
he is buried in his own desolation. 

It is totally impossible for a man to 
achieve a truly successful and happy life 
who ignores the four moral principles 
enumerated, whilst the man who scru- 
pulously observes them in all his deal- 
ings can no more fail of success and 
blessedness than the earth can fail of 
the light and warmth of the sun so long 
as it keeps to its lawful orbit; for he is 
working in harmony with the funda- 
mental laws of the universe; he is 
building his life on a basis which cannot 
be altered or overthrown, and, therefore, 
all that he does will be so strong and 



76 Gbe /IfcasterE ot Besting 

durable, and all the parts of his life 
will be so coherent, harmonious, and 
firmly knit that it cannot possibly be 
brought to ruin. 

In all the universal forms which are 
built up by the Great Invisible and 
unerring Power, it will be found that 
the observance of mathematical law 
is carried out with unfailing exactitude 
down to the most minute detail. The 
microscope reveals the fact that the 
infinitely small is as perfect as the 
infinitely great. 

A snowflake is as perfect as a star. 
Likewise, in the erection of a building 
by man, the strictest attention must be 
paid to every detail. 

A foundation must first be laid, and, 
although it is to be buried and hidden, 
it must receive the greatest care, and 
be made stronger than any other part 



/IlMnD*;BufR>fng anD %ite*miMng 77 

of the building; then stone upon stone, 
brick upon brick is carefully laid with 
the aid of the plumb-line, until at last 
the building stands complete in its 
durability, strength, and beauty. 

Even so it is with the life of a man. 
He who would have a life secure and 
blessed, a life freed from the miseries 
and failures to which so many fall 
victims, must carry the practice of the 
moral principles into every detail of 
his life, into every momentary duty and 
trivial transaction. In every little thing 
he must be thorough and honest, neg- 
lecting nothing. 

To neglect or misapply any little de- 
tail — be he commercial man, agricul- 
turist, professional man, or artisan — is 
the same as neglecting a stone or a 
brick in a building, and it will be a source 
of weakness and trouble. 



78 JLbc Masters of 2>eetfn£ 

The majority of those who fail and 
come to grief do so through neglecting 
the apparently insignificant details. 

It is a common error to suppose that 
little things can be passed by, and that 
the greater things are more important, 
and should receive all attention; but a 
cursory glance at the universe, as well 
as a little serious reflection on life, will 
teach the lesson that nothing great can 
exist which is not made up of small 
details, and in the composition of which 
every detail is perfect. 

He who adopts the four ethical prin- 
ciples as the law and base of his life, 
who raises the edifice of character upon 
them, who in his thoughts and words 
and actions does not wander from them, 
whose every duty and every passing 
transaction is performed in strict accord- 
ance with their exactions, — such a man, 



/fcinD^JBuilDtng anD Xfte^JBuUDliifl 79 

laying down the hidden foundation of 
integrity of heart securely and strongly, 
cannot fail to raise up a structure which 
shall bring him honour; and he is build- 
ing a temple in which he can repose in 
peace and blessedness — even the strong 
and beautiful Temple of his life. 



CULTIVATION OP CONCENTRA- 
TION 

Concentration, or the bringing of 
the mind to a centre and keeping it 
there, is vitally necessary to the accom- 
plishment of any task. It is the father 
of thoroughness and the mother of excel- 
lence. As a faculty, it is not an end 
in itself, but is an aid to all faculties, 
all work. Not a purpose in itself, it is 
yet a power which serves all purposes. 
Like steam in mechanics, it is a dynamic 
force in the machinery of the mind and 
the functions of life. 

The faculty is a common possession, 

though in its perfection it is rare — 

just as will and reason are common 
80 



Cultivation of Concentration 81 

possessions, though a perfectly poised 
will and a comprehensive reason are rare 
possessions, — and the mystery which 
some modern mystical writers have 
thrown around it is entirely superfluous. 
Every successful man, in whatever di- 
rection his success may lie, practises 
concentration, though he may know 
nothing about it as a subject of study: 
every time one becomes absorbed in a 
book or task, or is rapt in devotion or 
assiduous in duty, concentration, in a 
greater or lesser degree, is brought into 
play. 

Many books purporting to give in- 
structions on concentration make its 
practice and acquisition an end in itself. 
Than this there is no surer nor swifter 
way to its destruction. The fixing of 
the eyes upon the tip of the nose, 
upon a door-knob, a picture, a mystical 



82 Gbe flfoastetB of Besting 

symbol, or the portrait of a saint ; or the 
centring of the mind upon the navel, 
the pineal gland, or some imaginary 
point in space (I have seen all these 
methods seriously advised in works on 
this subject) with the object of acquiring 
concentration, is like trying to nourish 
the body by merely moving the jaw as 
in the act of eating, without taking food. 
Such methods prevent the end at which 
they aim. They lead towards dispersion 
and not concentration; towards weak- 
ness and imbecility rather than towards 
power and intelligence. I have met 
those who have squandered, by these 
practices, what measure of concentration 
they at first possessed, and have become 
the prey of a weak and wandering mind. 
Concentration is an aid to the doing 
of something; it is not the doing of 
something in itself. A ladder has no 



Cultivation ot Concentration 83 

value in and of itself, but only in so far 
as it enables us to reach something which 
we could not otherwise reach. In like 
manner, concentration is that which 
enables the mind to accomplish with 
ease that which it would be otherwise 
impossible to accomplish; but of itself 
it is a dead thing, and not a living 
accomplishment. 

Concentration is so interwoven with 
the uses of life that it cannot be sepa- 
rated from duty; and he who tries to 
acquire it apart from his task, his duty, 
will not only fail, but will diminish, 
and not increase, his mental control and 
executive capacity, and so render him- 
self less and less fit to succeed in his 
undertakings. 

In the task of the hour is all the means 
for the cultivation of concentration — 
whether that task be the acquiring of 



84 Gbe /toasters of 2)estfns 

divine knowledge, or the sweeping of 
a floor — without resorting to methods 
which have no practical bearing on life; 
for what is concentration but the bring- 
ing of a well-controlled mind to the 
doing of that which has to be done? 

He who does his work in an aimless, 
a hurried, or thoughtless manner, and 
resorts to his artificial " concentration 
methods " — to his door-knob, his picture, 
or nasal extremity — in order to gain that 
which he imagines to be some kind of 
mystical power — but which is a very 
ordinary and practical quality — though 
he may drift towards insanity (and I 
knew one man who became insane by 
these practices), he will not increase in 
steadiness of mind. 

The great enemy of concentration — 
and therefore of all skill and power — 
is a wavering, wandering, undisciplined 



Cultivation ot Concentration 85 

mind ; and it is in overcoming this that 
concentration is acquired. A scattered 
and undisciplined army would be use- 
less. To make it effective in action 
and swift in victory it must be solidly 
concentrated and masterfully directed. 
Scattered and diffused thoughts are 
weak and worthless. Thoughts mar- 
shalled, commanded, and directed upon 
a given point, are invincible; confusion, 
doubt, and difficulty give way before 
their masterly approach. Concentrated 
thought enters largely into all successes, 
and informs all victories. 

There is no more secret about its 
acquirement than about any other ac- 
quisition, for it is governed by the un- 
derlying principle of all development, 
namely, practice. To be able to do a 
thing, you must begin to do it, and keep 
on doing it until the thing is mastered. 



86 XLbc /HbaetetE of Beeting 

This principle prevails universally — 
in all arts, sciences, trades; in all learn- 
ing, conduct, religion. To be able to 
paint, one must paint; to know how 
to use a tool skilfully, he must use the 
tool; to become learned, he must learn; 
to become wise, he must do wise things; 
and to successfully concentrate his mind, 
he must concentrate it. But the doing 
is not all — it must be done with energy 
and intelligence. 

The beginning of concentration, then, 
is to go to your daily task and put your 
mind on it, bringing all your intelligence 
and mental energy to a focus upon that 
which has to be done; and every time 
the thoughts are found wandering aim- 
lessly away, they should be brought 
promptly back to the thing in hand. 
Thus the "centre" upon which you are 
to bring your mind to a point, is (not 



Cultivation of Concentration 87 

your pineal gland or a point in space), 
but the work which you are doing every 
day; and your object in thus concentrat- 
ing is to be able to do your work with 
smooth rapidity and consummate skill; 
for until you can thus do your work, 
you have not gained any degree of 
control over the mind; you have not 
acquired the power of concentration. 

This powerful focussing of one's 
thought and energy and will upon the 
doing of things is difficult at first — 
as everything worth acquiring is diffi- 
cult — but daily efforts, strenuously made 
and patiently followed up, will soon 
lead to such a measure of self-control 
as will enable one to bring a strong 
and penetrating mind to bear upon any 
work undertaken; a mind that will 
quickly comprehend all the details of 
the work, and dispose of them with 



88 Gbe Masters of Weetiny 

accuracy and despatch. He will thus, 
as his concentrative capacity increases, 
enlarge his usefulness in the scheme of 
things, and increase his value to the 
world, thus inviting nobler opportuni- 
ties, and opening the door to higher 
duties; he will also experience the joy of 
a wider and fuller life. 

In the process of concentration there 
are the four following stages : 

i. Attention. 

2. Contemplation. 

3. Abstraction. 

4. Activity in Repose. 

At first the thoughts are arrested, 
and the mind is fixed upon the object 
of concentration, which is the task in 
hand — this is attention. The mind is 
then roused into vigorous thought con- 
cerning the way of proceeding with the 
task — this is contemplation. Protracted 



Cultivation of Concentration 89 

contemplation leads to a condition of 
mind in which the doors of the senses 
are all closed against the entrance of 
outside distractions, the thoughts being 
wrapped in, and solely and intensely 
centred upon, the work in hand — this 
is abstraction. The mind thus centred 
in profound cogitation reaches a state 
in which the maximum of work is 
accomplished with the minimum of 
friction — this is activity in repose. 

Attention is the first stage in all suc- 
cessful work. They who lack it fail 
in everything. Such are the lazy, the 
thoughtless, the indifferent and incom- 
petent. When attention is followed by 
an awakening of the mind to serious 
thought, then the second stage is reached. 
To ensure success in all ordinary, 
worldly undertakings, it is not neces- 
sary to go beyond these two stages. 



9o Gbe /Raster^ of StesttaE 

They are reached, in a greater or lesser 
degree, by all that large army of skilled 
and competent workers which carries out 
the work of the world in its manifold 
departments, and only a comparatively 
small number reach the third stage of 
abstraction; for when abstraction is 
reached, we have entered the sphere of 
genius. In the first two stages, the 
work and the mind are separate, and 
the work is done more or less laboriously, 
and with a degree of friction ; but in the 
third stage, a marriage of the work with 
the mind takes place, there is a fusion, 
a union, and the two become one: then 
there is a superior efficiency with less 
labour and friction. In the perfection 
of the first two stages, the mind is ob- 
jectively engaged, and is easily drawn 
from its centre by external sights and 
sounds ; but when the mind has attained 



Cultivation of Concentration 91 

perfection in abstraction, the subjective 
method of working is accomplished, as 
distinguished from .the objective. The 
thinker is then oblivious to the outside 
world, but is vividly alive in his mental 
operations. If spoken to, he will not 
hear; and if plied with more vigorous 
appeals, he will bring back his mind to 
outside things as one coming out of a 
dream; indeed, this abstraction is a 
kind of waking dream, but its similarity 
to a dream ends with the subjective 
state: it does not obtain in the mental 
operations of that state, in which, instead 
of the confusion of dreaming, there is 
perfect order, penetrating insight, and 
a wide range of comprehension. Who- 
ever attains to perfection in abstraction 
will manifest genius in the particular 
work upon which his mind is centred. 
Inventors, artists, poets, scientists* 



92 Gbe dBaatetE of Besting 

philosophers, and all men of genius, are 
men of abstraction. They accomplish 
subjectively, and with ease, that which 
the objective workers — men who have 
not yet attained beyond the second 
stage in concentration — cannot accom- 
plish with the most strenuous labour. 

When the fourth stage — that of activ- 
ity in repose — is attained, then concen- 
tration in its perfection is acquired. 
I am unable to find a single word which 
will fully express this dual condition of 
intense activity combined with steadi- 
ness, or rest, and have therefore em- 
ployed the term "activity in repose. " 
The term appears contradictory, but 
the simple illustration of a spinning top 
will serve to explain the paradox. 
When a top spins at the maximum 
velocity, the friction is reduced to the 
minimum, and the top assumes that 



Cultivation ot Concentration 93 

condition of perfect repose which is 
a sight so beautiful to the eye, and so 
captivating to the mind, of the school- 
boy, who then says his top is " asleep. " 
The top is apparently motionless, but 
it is the rest, not of inertia, but of intense 
and perfectly balanced activity. So 
the mind that has acquired perfect 
concentration is, when engaged in that 
intense activity of thought which results 
in productive work of the highest kind, 
in a state of quiet poise and calm repose. 
Externally, there is no apparent activity, 
no disturbance, and the face of a man 
who has acquired this power will assume 
a more or less radiant calmness, and the 
face will be more sublimely calm when 
the mind is most intensely engaged in 
active thought. 

Each stage of concentration has its 
particular power. Thus the first stage, 



94 Gbe d&asterE of Besting 

when perfected, leads to usefulness; 
the second leads to skill, ability, talent; 
the third leads to originality and genius; 
while the fourth leads to mastery and 
power, and makes leaders and teachers 
of men. 

In the development of concentration, 
also, as in all objects of growth, the 
following stages embody the preceding 
ones in their entirety. Thus in con- 
templation, attention is contained; in 
abstraction, both attention and con- 
templation are embodied; and he who 
has reached the last stage, brings into 
play, in the act of contemplation, all 
the four stages. 

He who has perfected himself in con- 
centration is able, at any moment, to 
bring his thoughts to a point upon any 
matter, and to search into it with the 
strong light of an active comprehension. 



Cultivation of Concentration 95 

He can both take a thing up and lay it 
down with equal deliberation. He has 
learned how to use his thinking faculties 
to fixed purposes, and guide them to- 
wards definite ends. He is an intelligent 
doer of things, and not a weak wanderer 
amid chaotic thought. 

Decision, energy, alertness, as well as 
deliberation, judgment, and gravity, ac- 
company the habit of concentration; 
and that vigorous mental training which 
its cultivation involves, leads, through 
ever-increasing usefulness and success 
in worldly occupations, towards that 
higher form of concentration called 
"meditation," in which the mind be- 
comes divinely illumined, and acquires 
the heavenly knowledge. 



PRACTICE OF MEDITATION 

When aspiration is united to concen- 
tration, the result is meditation. When 
a man intensely desires to reach and 
realise a higher, purer, and more radiant 
life than the merely worldly and pleas- 
ure loving life, he engages in aspiration; 
and when he earnestly concentrates his 
thoughts upon the finding of that life, 
he practises meditation. 

Without intense aspiration, there can 
be no meditation. Lethargy and indif- 
ference are fatal to its practice. The 
more intense the nature of a man, the 
more readily will he find meditation, 
and the more successfully will he practise 

it. A fiery nature will most rapidly 
96 



practice of fflbeDftatfon 97 

scale the heights of Truth in meditation, 
when its aspirations have become suffi- 
ciently awakened. 

Concentration is necessary to worldly 
success: meditation is necessary to 
spiritual success. Worldly skill and 
knowledge are acquired by concentra- 
tion: spiritual skill and knowledge are 
acquired by meditation. By concen- 
tration a man can scale the highest 
heights of genius, but he cannot scale 
the heavenly heights of Truth: to ac- 
complish this, he must meditate. By 
concentration a man may acquire the 
wonderful comprehension and vast power 
of a Caesar; by meditation he may reach 
the divine wisdom and perfect peace 
of a Buddha. The perfection of concen- 
tration is power ; the perfection of medi- 
tation is wisdom. By concentration, 
men acquire skill in the doing of the 



98 Zbe flhaeteiy of Weetiny 

things of life — in science, art, trade, 
etc., — but by meditation, they acquire 
skill in life itself; in right living, enlight- 
enment, wisdom, etc. Saints, sages, sa- 
viours — wise men and divine teachers — 
are the finished products of holy medi- 
tation. 

The four stages in concentration are 
brought into play in meditation; the 
difference between the two powers being 
one of direction, and not of nature. Med- 
itation is therefore spiritual concentra- 
tion; the bringing of the mind to a focus 
in its search for the divine knowledge, 
the divine life; the intense dwelling, 
in thought, on Truth. Thus a man 
aspires to know and realise, above all 
things else, the Truth; he then gives 
attention to conduct, to life, to self- 
purification: giving attention to these 
things, he passes into serious content- 



practice of flfceDitatton 99 

plation of the facts, problems, and mys- 
tery of life: thus contemplating, he 
comes to love Truth so fully and in- 
tensely as to become wholly absorbed in 
it, the mind is drawn away from its wan- 
derings in a multitude of desires, and, 
solving one by one the problems of life, 
realises that profound union with Truth 
which is the state of abstraction; and thus 
absorbed in Truth, there is that balance 
and poise of character, that divine 
action in repose, which is the abiding 
calm and peace of an emancipated and 
enlightened mind. 

Meditation is more difficult to practise 
than concentration because it involves a 
much more severe self-discipline than 
that which obtains in concentration. A 
man can practise concentration without 
purifying his heart and life, whereas the 
process of purification is inseparable 



ioo Gbe /toasters of Besting 

from meditation. The object of medi- 
tation is divine enlightenment, the at- 
tainment of Truth, and is therefore 
interwoven with practical purity and 
righteousness. Thus while, at first, the 
time spent in actual meditation is short 
— perhaps only half an hour in the 
early morning — the knowledge gained 
in that half-hour of vivid aspiration 
and concentrated thought is embodied 
in practice during the whole day. In 
meditation, therefore, the entire life 
of a man is involved; and as he 
advances in its practice he becomes 
more and more fitted to perform 
the duties of life in the circumstances 
in which he may be placed, for he 
becomes stronger, holier, calmer, and 
wiser. 

The principle of meditation is two- 
fold, namely — 



practice of /BbeDftatfon 101 

i. Purification of the heart by repetitive 
thought on pure things. 

2- Attainment of divine knowledge by em- 
bodying such purity in practical life. 

Man is a thought-being, and his life 
and character are determined by the 
thoughts in which he habitually dwells. 
By practice, association, and habit, 
thoughts tend to repeat themselves 
with greater and greater ease and fre- 
quency, and so "fix" the character in 
a given direction by producing that 
automatic action which is called 
"habit." By daily dwelling upon pure 
thoughts, the man of meditation forms 
the habit of pure and enlightened 
thinking which leads to pure and en- 
lightened actions and well-performed 
duties. By the ceaseless repetition of 
pure thoughts, he at last becomes one 
with those thoughts, and is a purified 



102 Gbe .Mastery of Beating 

being, manifesting his attainment in 
pure actions, in a serene and wise life. 

The majority of men live in a series 
of conflicting desires, passions, emotions, 
and speculations, and there are restless- 
ness, uncertainty, and sorrow; but when 
a man begins to train his mind in medi- 
tation, he gradually gains control over 
this inward conflict by bringing his 
thoughts to a focus upon a central 
principle. In this way the old habits 
of impure and erroneous thought and 
action are broken up, and the new habits 
of pure and enlightened thought and 
action are formed; the man becomes 
more and more reconciled to Truth, 
and there is increasing harmony and 
insight, a growing perfection and peace. 

A powerful and lofty aspiration to- 
wards Truth is always accompanied 
with a keen sense of the sorrow and 






practice ot flfceDitatfon 103 

brevity and mystery of life, and until 
this condition of mind is reached, 
meditation is impossible. Merely mus- 
ing, or whiling away the time in idle 
dreaming (habits to which the word 
meditation is frequently applied), are 
very far removed from meditation, in 
the lofty spiritual sense which we 
attach to that condition. 

It is easy to mistake reverie for medi- 
tation. This is a fatal error which must 
be avoided by one striving to meditate. 
The two must not be confounded. 
Reverie is a loose dreaming into which 
a man falls; meditation is a strong, 
purposeful thinking into which a man 
rises. Reverie is easy and pleasura- 
ble; meditation is at first difficult and 
irksome. Reverie thrives in indolence 
and luxury; meditation arises from 
strenuousness and discipline. Reverie 



104 Gbe /toaster^ of Beating 

is first alluring, then sensuous, and then 
sensual. Meditation is first forbid- 
ding, then profitable, and then peaceful. 
Reverie is dangerous; it undermines 
self-control. Meditation is protective ; 
it establishes self-control. 

There are certain signs by which 
one can know whether he is engaging 
in reverie or meditation. The indica- 
tions of reverie are : 

i. A desire to avoid exertion. 

2. A desire to experience the pleasures of 

dreaming. 

3. An increasing distaste for one's worldly 

duties. 

4. A desire to shirk one's worldly respon- 

sibilities. 

5. Fear of consequences. 

6. A wish to get money with as little 

effort as possible. 

7. Lack of self-control. 

The indications of meditation are: 

1. Increase of both physical and mental 
energy. 



practice of /Ifce&ftatfon 103 

2. A strenuous striving after wisdom. 

3. A decrease of irksomeness in the per- 

formance of duty. 

4. A fixed determination to faithfully 

fulfil all worldly responsibilities. 

5. Freedom from fear. 

6. Indifference to riches. 

7. Possession of self-control. 

There are certain times, places, and 
conditions in and under which it is 
impossible to meditate, others wherein 
it is difficult to meditate, and others 
wherein meditation is rendered more 
accessible; and these, which should 
be known and carefully observed, are 
as follows: 

Times, Places, and Conditions in which Med- 
itation is Impossible. 



At, or immediately after, meals. 

In places of pleasure. 

In crowded places. 

While walking rapidly. 

While lying in bed in the morning. 

While smoking. 



106 Gbe flbastets of 2>estfnE 

7. While lying on a couch or bed for physi- 
cal or mental relaxation. 

Times, Places, and Conditions in which Med- 
itation is Difficult. 



At night. 

In a luxuriously furnished room. 

While sitting on a soft, yielding seat. 

While wearing gay clothing. 

When in company. 

When the body is weary. 

If the body is given too much food. 



Times, Places, and Conditions in which it is 
Best to Meditate. 

1 . Very early in the morning. 

2. Immediately before meals. 

3. In solitude. 

4. In the open air or in a plainly furnished 

room. 

5. While sitting on a hard seat. 

6. When the body is strong and vigorous. 

7. When the body is modestly and plainly 

clothed. 

It will be seen by the foregoing in- 
structions that ease, luxury, and indul- 
gence (which induce reverie) render 



practice of jflfceDftation 107 

meditation difficult, and when strongly 
pronounced make it impossible; while 
strenuousness, discipline, and self-denial 
(which dispel reverie), make medita- 
tion comparatively easy. The body, too, 
should be neither overfed nor starved; 
neither in rags nor flauntingly clothed. 
It should not be tired, but should be at 
its highest point of energy and strength, 
as the holding of the mind to a concen- 
trated train of subtle and lofty thought 
requires a high degree of both physical 
and mental energy. 

Aspiration can often best be aroused, 
and the mind renewed in meditation, 
by the mental repetition of a lofty pre- 
cept, a beautiful sentence or a verse 
of poetry. Indeed, the mind that is 
ready for meditation will instinctively 
adopt this practice. Mere mechanical 
repetition is worthless, and even a 



108 Gbe /ifcaeterg of Destiny 

hindrance. The words repeated must 
be so applicable to one's own condition 
that they are dwelt upon lovingly and 
with concentrated devotion. In this 
way aspiration and concentration har- 
moniously combine to produce, without 
undue strain, the state of meditation. 
All the conditions above stated are 
of the utmost importance in the early 
stages of meditation, and should be 
carefully noted and duly observed by 
all who are striving to acquire the 
practice ; and those who faithfully follow 
the instructions, and who strive and 
persevere, will not fail to gather in, in 
due season, the harvest of purity, wis- 
dom, bliss, and peace; and will surely eat 
of the sweet fruits of holy meditation. 



THE POWER OP PURPOSE 

Dispersion is weakness; concentration 
is power. Destruction is a scattering, 
preservation a uniting, process. Things 
are useful and thoughts are powerful 
in the measure that their parts are 
strongly and intelligently concentrated. 
Purpose is highly concentrated thought. 
All the mental energies are directed 
to the attainment of an object, and 
obstacles which intervene between the 
thinker and the object are, one after 
another, broken down and overcome. 
Purpose is the key-stone in the temple 
of achievement. It binds and holds 
together in a complete whole that which 
would otherwise lie scattered and use- 
less. Empty whims, ephemeral fancies, 
109 



no Gbe /Raster^ of Besting 

vague desires, and half-hearted resolu- 
tions have no place in purpose. In 
the sustained determination to accom- 
plish there is an invincible power which 
swallows up all inferior considerations, 
and marches direct to victory. 

All successful men are men of purpose. 
They hold fast to an idea, a project, 
a plan, and will not let it go; they 
cherish it, brood upon it, tend and 
develop it; and when assailed by diffi- 
culties, they refuse to be beguiled into 
surrender; indeed, the intensity of the 
purpose increases with the growing 
magnitude of the obstacles encountered. 

The men who have moulded the 
destinies of humanity have been men 
mighty of purpose. Like the Roman lay- 
ing his road, they have followed along 
a well-defined path, and have refused 
to swerve aside even when torture and 



TLbe ©ower of purpose 1 1 1 

death confronted them. The Great 
Leaders of the race are the mental 
road-makers, and mankind follows in 
the intellectual and spiritual paths 
which they have carved out and beaten. 

Great is the power of purpose. To 
know how great, let a man study it in 
the lives of those whose influence has 
shaped the ends of nations and directed 
the destinies of the world. In an Alex- 
ander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon, we see 
the power of purpose when it is directed 
in worldly and personal channels; in a 
Confucius, a Buddha, or a Christ, we per- 
ceive its vaster power when its course 
is along heavenly and impersonal paths. 

Purpose goes with intelligence. There 
are lesser and greater purposes accord- 
ing with degrees of intelligence. A great 
mind will always be great of purpose. 
A weak intelligence will be without 



H2 Gbe /Raster^ ot testing 

purpose. A drifting mind argues a 
measure of undevelopment. 

What can resist an unshakable pur- 
pose? What can stand against it or 
turn it aside? Inert matter yields to a 
living force, and circumstance succumbs 
to the power of purpose. Truly, the 
man of unlawful purpose will, in achiev- 
ing his ends, destroy himself, but the 
man of good and lawful purpose cannot 
fail. It only needs that he daily renew 
the fire and energy of his fixed resolve, 
to consummate his object. 

The weak man, who grieves because 
he is misunderstood, will not greatly 
achieve; the vain man, who steps aside 
from his resolve in order to please 
others and gain their approbation, 
will not highly achieve; the double- 
minded man, who thinks to compromise 
his purpose, will fail. 



Gbe power of purpose 113 

The man of fixed purpose who, 
whether misunderstandings and foul 
accusations, or flatteries and fair pro- 
mises, rain upon him, does not yield a 
fraction of his resolve, is the man of 
excellence and achievement; of success, 
greatness, power. 

Hindrances stimulate the man of 
purpose; difficulties nerve him to re- 
newed exertion; mistakes, losses, pains, 
do not subdue him; and failures are 
steps in the ladder of success, for he 
is ever conscious of the certainty of 
final achievement. - • 

All things at last yield to the si- 
lent, irresistible, all-conquering energy 
of purpose. 



"Out of the night that covers me, 
Black as the pit from pole to pole, 
I thank whatever gods may be 
For my unconquerable soul. 
8 



H4 ttbe /Raster^ of 2>estfn£ 

" In the fell clutch of circumstance 
I have not whined nor cried aloud; 
Under the bludgeonings of chance 
My head is bloody but unbowed. 

"It matters not how strait the gate, 

How charged with punishment the scroll; 
I am the master of my fate, 
I am the captain of my soul. " 



THE JOY OF ACCOMPLISHMENT 

Joy is always the accompaniment 
of a task successfully accomplished. 
An undertaking completed, or a piece 
of work done, always brings rest and 
satisfaction. "When a man has done 
his duty, he is light-hearted and happy," 
says Emerson; and no matter how in- 
significant the task may appear, the 
doing of it faithfully and with whole- 
souled energy always results in cheer- 
fulness and peace of mind. 

Of all miserable men, the shirker is 
the most miserable. Thinking to find 
ease and happiness in avoiding difficult 
duties and necessary tasks, which require 
the expenditure of labour and exertion, 
"5 



1 1 6 Gbe /toaster^ of Destiny 

his mind is always uneasy and disturbed, 
he becomes burdened with an inward 
sense of shame, and forfeits manliness 
and self-respect. "He who will not 
work according to his faculty, let him 
perish according to his necessity, " says 
Carlyle; and it is a moral law that the 
man who avoids duty, and does not 
work to the full extent of his capacity, 
does actually perish, first in his character 
and last in his body and circumstances. 
Life and action are synonymous, and 
immediately a man tries to escape 
exertion, either physical or mental, he 
has commenced to decay. 

On the other hand, the energetic 
increase in life by the full exercise of 
their powers, by overcoming difficulties, 
and by bringing to completion tasks 
which called for the strenuous use of 
mind or muscle. 



JEbe 3oy of iHccompliebment 1 1 7 

How happy is a child when a school- 
lesson, long laboured over, is mastered 
at last! The athlete, who has trained 
his body through long months or years 
of discipline and strain, is richly blessed 
in his increased health and strength; 
and is met with the rejoicings of his 
friends when he carries home the prize 
from the field of contest. After many 
years of ungrudging toil, the heart of 
the scholar is gladdened with the advan- 
tages and powers which learning bestows. 
The business man, grappling incessantly 
with difficulties and drawbacks, is 
amply repaid in the happy assurance 
of well-earned success ; and the horticul- 
turist, vigorously contending with the 
stubborn soil, sits down at last to eat 
of the fruits of his labour. 

Every successful accomplishment, 
even in worldly things, is repaid with 



1 1 8 Gbe ^Rasters of 5>e0tfn£ 

its own measure of joy ; and in spiritual 
things, the joy which supervenes upon 
the perfection of purpose is sure, deep, 
and abiding. Great is the heartfelt 
joy (albeit ineffable) when, after innu- 
merable and apparently unsuccessful 
attempts, some ingrained fault of char- 
acter is at last cast out to trouble its 
erstwhile victim and the world no more. 
The striver after virtue — he who is 
engaged in the holy task of building 
up a noble character — tastes, at every 
step of conquest over self, a joy which 
does not again leave him, but which 
becomes an integral part of his spiritual 
nature. 

All life is a struggle; both without 
and within there are conditions against 
which man must contend; his very 
existence is a series of efforts and accom- 
plishments, and his right to remain 



Gbe Job of Hccomplfsbment 1 1 9 

among men as a useful unit of humanity- 
depends upon the measure of his capa- 
city for wrestling successfully with the 
elements of nature without, or with the 
enemies of virtue and truth within. 

It is demanded of man that he shall 
continue to strive after better things, 
after greater perfection, after higher 
and still higher achievements; and in 
accordance with the measure of his 
obedience to this demand, does the 
angel of joy wait upon his footsteps 
and minister unto him; for he who 
is anxious to learn, eager to know, 
and who puts forth efforts to accom- 
plish, finds the joy which eternally 
sings at the heart of the universe. 
First in little things, then in greater, 
and then in greater still, must man 
strive; until at last he is prepared to 
make the supreme effort, and strive 



iao Gbe fl&astetE of 2>estfn£ 

for the accomplishment of Truth, suc- 
ceeding in which, he will realise the 
eternal joy. 

The price of life is effort; the acme 
of effort is accomplishment; the reward 
of accomplishment is joy. Blessed is 
the man who strives against his own 
selfishness; he will taste in its fulness 
the joy of accomplishment. 



The End 



fi Selection from the 
Catalogue of 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 



Complete Catalogues sent 
on application 



The Philosophy of 
Self -Help 

An Application of Practical 
Psychology to Daily Life 

By Stanton Davis Kirkham 

Author of " The Ministry of Beauty," " Where 
Dwells the Soul Serene," " In the Open," etc. 

Crown 8vo. $1.25 net. By mail, <$i.^d 



This volume is designed to show how, by a 
training and use of the mind, it is possible for every- 
one to secure at least a large measure of mental 
health and physical well-being. Mr. Kirkham's work 
distances its competitors in the field by combining 
certain qualities which are the condition of excellence 
and practical serviceableness in the chosen sphere of 
this book ; it is firmly founded upon a rock of 

Ehilosophy ; the author's sanity and common-sense 
anish all extreme and fantastic claims that fly in 
the face of reason and experience ; the thought is 
reduced to the simplest form, and is free from tech- 
nical terms ; the ideas are easily grasped and put 
into practice ; and there is an extraordinary lucidity, 
directness, and vigor in style, structure, and manner 
of presentation. 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York London 



By Lyman P. Powell 



Christian Science 

The Faith and Its Founder 

Crown Zvo. §z.2$net. Postage, 10 cents 
A marshalling of the evidence pro and con . 
A summing up and an impartial judgment . 

" It is scientific, accurate, clear, cogent, unanswer- 
able, and satisfying to the last degree. I am delighted 
with it. The whole Christian world will thank you for 
it. I am going to use it unblushingly in a course of 
sermons later on." — Cyrus Townsend Brady, 

The Art of Natural Sleep 

With Definite Directions for the Whole- 
some Cure of Sleeplessness 

Illustrated by Cases from Clinics in 
Northampton and Elsewhere 

Crown Zvo. Net 90 cents. Postage, 10 cents 
" Its unassuming style and clear, discriminating 
thought pronounce it the work of one who knows. It 
will commend itself to a multitude who are in bondage 
to insomnia. The book is lucid, sane, and practical." 
Rev.L. Ward ' Brigham, All Souls'' Church, Brooklyn 

The Emmanuel Movement 

In a New England Town 

A Systematic Account of Experiments and Re- 
flections Designed to Determine the Proper 
Relationship between the Minister'andthe 
Doctor in the Light of Modern Needs 

With Illustrations 
Crown Svo. $1.25 net. Postage, 10 cents 
" Valuable because of its sane and reasonable 
treatment and its moderate and yet strong claims." 
The Bishop of Connecticut. 
Send for descriptive circular 

New York Q. P. Putnam's Sons London 



,^>tW, 






^^ 



^ 9* 




*' % 





























% 
\ 












h>& 



<fi ^o Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 

1 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 












PreservationTechnologies 

IN PAPER PRESERVATIOI 

mson Park Drive 

ry Township, PA 16066 

9-2111 



A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



